By DAVID ANDRIESEN, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, May 24, 2002

In the waning days of spring training in 1999, the dream was all but over for Rafael Soriano.

After hitting .167 the previous summer in his second year of rookie ball, he told his mother that if the Mariners let him go that spring, he would rejoin his four sisters and three brothers in the Dominican Republic, get a job and forget about baseball.

But Rafael Chavez, who had coached Soriano the previous two seasons, liked the kid and had an idea.

"Chavez knew that we were thinking about letting (Soriano) go after spring training, and he said before we did we should give him a try on the mound," said Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price, who was then the organization's minor-league pitching coordinator.

"He had a lean, athletic body and a strong arm that was also accurate," said Chavez, now the pitching coach for the Mariners' Class AA team in San Antonio. "Those are things you look for in a pitcher."

The 19-year-old outfielder/first baseman threw in the bullpen for Price and other assembled coaches. He reached 90 mph and could locate the ball where he wanted it. A pitcher was born, and Soriano's dream found new life.

"They called me in and said hey, Soriano, we see you've got no offense, but we think you can make it to the big leagues as a pitcher," Soriano said through an interpreter.

"And I said, hey, no problem.

"They told me I was going to go into the bullpen, and I said fine. I was dispirited, but my feeling was, if they want to make me a pitcher, they can make me a pitcher."

"He looked like he was just playing a game of catch, and the ball was 87-90, so you knew he was going to get stronger once he learned some mechanics and got his arm strength up," Price said. "It ended up being a really good decision."

It has been just over three years since that fateful afternoon, and today Soriano, 22, takes the mound for his first major league start as the Mariners host Baltimore. He has never pitched in Class AAA and has just eight appearances above Class A.

"I don't see this as a risk," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. "This is the perfect time. I'd like nothing better than to see him take the ball and run with it. We're pretty well convinced that this young man here can get the job done."

Nobody was convinced when Soriano reported to Everett that summer to begin life as a pitcher. They put him in the bullpen, and in his first outing he threw 93 mph. They made him a starter and in his next outing he threw 96. His only weapons besides the fastball were a crude slider and an inconsistent changeup, but in the minor leagues, throwing 96 mph can make up for a lot.

"When he went on the mound, he looked like he belonged there," said Benny Looper, the Mariners' director of player development. "We didn't have to do a whole lot with him, other than just give him innings. He really came along in a hurry."

Soriano threw 75 1/3 innings in the short season at Everett and struck out 83 batters while compiling a team-best 3.11 ERA. He spent 2000 with Class A Wisconsin, going 8-4 with a 2.87 ERA. Opponents hit homers against him at a pace of one for every 167 at-bats.

His rise continued last season at Class A San Bernardino and San Antonio, where he combined for a 2.82 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 137 1/3 innings.

The Mariners were intrigued and ready to give Soriano a serious look this spring. It wouldn't be that easy.

After the events of last September, the United States began taking a harder look at visas from other countries, and as a result of the scrutiny, many Latino ballplayers were discovered to be older than their teams thought. Many of those cases involved Dominicans.

"A lot of Dominican players take off years when they sign, and (Dominican and U.S. officials) thought when I signed I cut my age down," Soriano said. "I had to prove to them that I wasn't lying. They made me look for 1,000 papers, and it took me a lot of time for all the paperwork. It was not because there was anything wrong with me; it was just all the paperwork I had to go through.

"A week passed, two weeks passed and supposedly I was supposed to be here. (The Mariners) kept calling me and calling me, asking what's the problem. They wanted to see me pitch, and I wanted them to see me. I was really worried."

By the time Soriano arrived on March 7, it was too late for him to get in shape to pitch for Piniella. At the end of spring training, he went back to San Antonio.

Through a series of injuries and disappointments at the major league level, Soriano's delayed audition came quickly. In two appearances totaling five innings, he has allowed two hits, struck out six and recorded a save.

Piniella has said he intends for Soriano's insertion into the starting rotation to be permanent, meaning the rookie, earning the major-league minimum of $200,000, could spend the rest of the season in a role intended for John Halama ($1.4 million) or free-agent acquisition James Baldwin ($1.25 million).

Whatever happens, the future begins today.

"I'm going to pitch the way I have the past four years, and whatever happens happens," he said. "I'm a little anxious, but I'm not going to pressure myself to do more than I can do.

"I just feel like I'm in my own house. I feel at home here. They have really welcomed me. Even more, the confidence they have showed in me, bringing me up, has made me feel the way I do now."

Not bad for a guy who three years ago was an outfielder hitting .167.

"Raffy is a pretty smart kid," said Chavez, who made the pitch that got Soriano pitching. "He knew at that time that his career as a position player was ending. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel and the opportunity he had as a pitcher, and he took advantage.

"The entire organization is happy to see a young guy get this chance, and personally, I'm very happy for him."